BOZEMAN, Mont. – Idaho came out strong in the final day of the Big Sky Championships, winning one event and earning two All-BSC honors.
“Things went well this weekend, I'm proud of this team,” said head coach Tim Cawley. “They all competed hard, and extremely well. And it was just fun to watch. I loved the effort, across the board. We're definitely moving in the right direction.”
Ben Ayesu-Attah was tremendous on the day. He took home the win in the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.33, earning All-Big Sky accolades. He also placed fourth in the finals of the 200-meter dash at 22.17 seconds.
“Ben had a great weekend,” said Cawley. “The 400-meters was tight, even though he dominated his heat in the final. It's tough when the second place finisher comes from a different heat. Then to be ranked low in the 200 but step up and earn fourth with a great finish and anchor the 4x400-meters to a photo-finish win. He's a tough kid. A really talented kid. Credit to him and coach Cathleen (Cawley) for their plan this weekend.”
Kinsey Gomez earned her second All-Big Sky honors of the weekend, taking second in the 1-mile run at 4:55.38. She won the 5000-meters on Friday.
“Kinsey ran extremely well on Friday night,” Cawley said. “She and coach Travis Floeck came up with a great plan and she executed it beautifully. To watch that race unfold the way she wanted it to, with her command and confidence in the final few laps, it really was exciting to watch. Then to come back today in the mile was fantastic. Just great performances all weekend.”
The men took seventh overall in the team competition with 43 points, a substantial improvement over last season. The women also showed a bump over last year, earning 27 points and taking 10th.
Faith Eruwa place fifth in the triple jump with a leap of 11.57 meters, her best jump of the season.
The Vandals had two competing in the final of the 60-meter hurdles. Jesse Villines took fifth with a personal-best of 8.23 seconds, while teammate Drew Thompson placed eighth at 8.58 seconds. The men's 4x400 meter relay team of Villines, Ian Middleton, Kaizer Gillispie and Ayesu-Attah took fifth.
“Drew was a great surprise this weekend,” Cawley said. “We weren't really sure how everything would go, after his injury, but he competed hard and got fantastic results. To PR in the heptathlon there, and then go into the hurdles after two long days, he's a tough kid. We're really proud of him.”
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